


Black Coffee

by MadJJ



Category: The Grinch (2018)
Genre: Angst, But it's not too angsty..., Donna's husband, F/M, I wanted this to be fluffy but I'm clearly not good at fluff sorry, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, That's the character who's dead, by my standards, coffee shop AU, mention of character's death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 23:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17928662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadJJ/pseuds/MadJJ
Summary: Donna must work at a Coffee Shop in addition to her night-shift at the hospital. But she's so exhausted...She doesn't truly notice the client with poor manners.





	Black Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> ....
> 
> So I wrote that, uh. Enjoy!

Donna knew she would end up here.

She had worked all of her life not to, had almost believed she had pulled it off, but in the end, here she was.

"A Grande, iced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with soy milk."

Serving coffee.

"That will be a minute," said Donna with a smile, though she wanted nothing more than to down the coffee herself or take a nap in the comfiest sofa of the shop stuck in a corner.

Whichever could get rid of the weariness uncomfortably hugging her muscles the fastest.

Working the night-shift at the hospital, only to come to work here during the day to make ends meet... She had not envisioned her future like that.

/It's for Cindy Lu, Buster and Bean that you're doing this!/

She brought her order to the client, then went on to listening to the next one.

"I'm Donna," she offered the usual greeting, still smiling.

"I'm Steve. I'd like a triple Venti."

"Coming right up!" she said with a fake enthusiasm.

She didn't hate coffee shops, not really. She simply had always believed that the order written on her arm was... constraining. Just because a coffee order was written there didn't mean that she had to resolve to not pursuing her passion career. Nursing was not paid enough to pay for all the bills though, not since her husband -

She smiled at the elderly Who who took his order, stifling down the need to cry. It was hard after the last couple of days. She could feel a headache pounding in her head as the suppressed memories battled to reemerge in an ocean of fatigue.

Her husband had been gone for a year now, and she was slowly getting back on the track of life. Her grieving process had not been easy, but she believed she was past the worst of it. Life needed to go on, and her children hadn't stopped growing because of their loss.

The client took his order and left. Donna took advantage of the sudden lack of clients of wipe the counter.

This loss was what made working here so difficult though, she continued her train of foggy thoughts. Because she knew the chance was high this would be where she met her Soulmate.

She was not ready for that, not just yet. She had married her first love, disregarding destiny, knowing some Whos didn't meet their Soulmate until they were elders. She thought maybe she'd have to wait until she was much older herself to finally accept a new relationship. She was much too busy for that, and besides...

"Black coffee."

She barely contained a flinch. It was not the first time she heard the simple order - it was common with those who didn't usually come to coffee shops to avoid more elaborate wording. It wasn't even the first time someone rudely forgot to introduce themselves before taking their order. Grumpiness was a common affliction when in need of caffeine.

"I'm Donna," she said.

Just because he had forgotten his manners didn't mean she did. That kind of attitude was what got some Whos with strange words, instead of the name of their Soulmate. This was why everyone always greeted others by introducing themselves, even if they had already met sometimes.

Donna's Soulmate would clearly have forgotten the convention though.

"I'll make your order right away!"

She just needed to finish getting rid of that stain...

Her sleep-deprived mind was too busy to notice the obvious.

When she finally looked up, she was surprised by the sight of a Who... Who didn't look like any other Who. His fuzz green. From head to toe.

Donna, not wanting to appear as rude, immediately stopped staring and turned around to start on the order. She missed his expression of astonishment as he stared at her wordlessly.

She finished the order quickly, placed it on the counter, then fiddled with the cash register as he handed her money mechanically.

"And have a great day!" she said, before her attention was taken by a client who wanted a refill.

It was fine, she told herself, trying to keep her eyes open as she poured coffee inside the pink cup. She'd have all of her debts paid by Christmas, and then, she could offer the best to her little family. She'd probably have the time to take a nap that afternoon before the children were home, back from school and daycare, and she'd be much more alert for her night shift.

When she was back behind the counter, the client was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't hesitate to share your thoughts, and find me on tumblr at https://mad-j-j.tumblr.com/! Thank you for reading!


End file.
